How To Bring Large Amounts of Traffic To Your Blog

How To Bring Large Amounts of Traffic To Your Blog
By Stefani Partin

Have you been blogging, but not too many people are visiting it? Are you waiting for those comments to come flooding in, but all you get is spam comments? I am going to tell you just a few things you can do, to bring in steady traffic to your blog.

Many new bloggers start a blog but get easily discouraged because they have no readers reading it. Well, the readers can’t read your blog, if they can’t it.  They also won’t read it, if it’s not something they want to read.

My biggest tip I will give here is, give your readers something they want to read. If you write a post that people enjoy reading, they are going to reward you by coming back. Never forget that your readers are real people, make your posts conversational. When you are blogging, remember to keep each post to one topic only and include keyword rich words in your title. Be sure to post to your blog often. Search engines love blogs and if you are posting daily, your blog is going to be indexed by the engines even faster and more frequently.

My next tip, if you are looking for really large amounts of traffic, I would like to suggest optimizing your posts for the search engine. You will want to throw a little SEO into your postings. You can do this easily by doing the following:
1. Use your primary keywords in the title of your post
2. Use your secondary keywords in the body of your post
3. Use your keywords in your anchor text of links in the body of your posts
If you follow those three steps above, you have a better chance of your posts being properly indexed by the search engines. This means more traffic for you.

My next tip, submit your blog to as many directories as possible. If you haven’t done so, make sure your blog has a RSS feed. If you are using Wordpress, it will create a feed for you.  If you don’t know much about feeds, visit http://www.feedburner.com  You can submit your blog url and it will give you a RSS feed address to use. I use Feedburner with my blogs hosted on Blogger.  When submitting your blog and RSS feed to directories, make sure you try to submit to the big directories like Technorati, Yahoo, DMOZ, MSN, etc. Here is a large list of blog directories you can submit to:
www.toprankresults.com/blog-submit-list.htm
My next tip, add a option to subscribe to your blog so your reader is updated by email when you make a new post. This is a great way to get readers to come back to your site. I use a service from FeedBlitz. You can signup for a free account at Feedblitz, then login to your account and grab some code to place into your blog template. In return, you are able to capture your subscribers names and email addresses. When you update your blog, all your readers will get an email letting them know. Don’t pass up this way to bring traffic to you.

My next tip, create inbound links to your blog. You can do this easily by visiting other blogs and posting comments. You can trackback to other’s blogs in your posts. If you have other blogs or websites, link to your blog within those. Basically, post your link to as many places as you can.

My last tip, ping ping ping. Make sure to ping your blog to as many as the services as you can. I use a free service at Pingomatic www.pingomatic.com

At Pingomatic you can type your blog url, then select the service you want to ping. They have about 20 services you can select. This saves a ton of time because you can ping all the selected services at the same time.

Happy Blogging!

© 2006 Stefani Partin, a work at home mom of three from CA who owns a network of sites for moms, blogs, a newsletter and more. Stefani dedicates her time to helping moms find ways to make money at home. Visit Stefani’s blog at www.StefaniPartin.com or visit her main site at www.MommyEnterprises.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stefani_Partin

 

Are Corporate Blogs a Waste of Time for Upper Management?

Are Corporate Blogs a Waste of Time for Upper Management?
By Greg Magnus

Telling your boss he or she needs a blog could get you fired. A generic blog with generic comments by your CEO and/or your upper management team does not produce significant returns for the time invested. More to the point, it is likely a waste of their time. We all know it, but thousands of blogs like this exist. Why?

Corporate management has been told they need to blog to connect with customers, prospects, vendors and associates. This is good advice for CEOs and managers that are excellent bloggers with plenty of time on their hands. Slim chance you work for one of these people.

So how should corporations more effectively use a blog?

PR Blogging Machine

Add your blog as a link on your corporate website, but you don’t necessarily need to call it a blog. There is no need nor many compelling reasons to have a stand alone blog. Your blog should look and feel just like any other page on your website, except the content is now going to be fresh, relevant and informative to your target market. Use the “News” link on your website and turn that stale, outdated content into a well-oiled, PR blogging machine.

Limit the posting rights to your marketing/PR department. Publish at least 2-3 posts per week; not an overbearing workload. Write press releases and relevant industry news that includes quotes and comments from the CEO and upper management. This will minimize their time involved while maximizing their exposure both internally and externally - everybody wins.

One benefit is your IT Department can set it up easily and little (if any) developer time is required to keep the “News” page updated. Search engines will love the fresh content and your website SEO results will improve, another benefit. Also, your website visitors can comment, you can promote the site in your newsletters and marketing materials, and your customers have a compelling reason to bookmark your website.

Involve Your Human Resources Department

With little effort, your human resources department can post job openings on the “News” page after you convert it to a blog format. A separate HR page, or multiple pages for each job opening, can easily be included and updated by your HR Department. Consider creating an RSS feed so potential candidates can check your job openings from their desktop easily.

Marketing Department Announcements

Again, with little effort you can also include an “Events” section on your “News” page once it is converted to a blog. Exhibiting at a trade show next month? Is your management team involved in any seminars, webinars, webcasts, or other marketing events? Using a blog to promote your corporate events is effective and the content improves your SEO results.

There are many ways to view blogs. When you realize blogs are software tools as much as anything  else, their uses are practically endless.

By Greg Magnus, a freelance writer and owner of eoecho.com; a communications consulting firm that provides custom publishing and marketing services. He can be reached via email (greg “at” eoecho.com) or his Blog: Greg Magnus.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Magnus

 

RSS Feed Tips to Help Search Engine Optimization

RSS feeds are a great communication medium, and when properly managed, web feeds can bring in significant Internet traffic. RSS feeds should contain compelling themed content with episodic titles that are united in common broad theme. Use RSS feeds as an online marketing and search engine optimization tool. Just as optimizing an HTML web page will increase exposure, so too will an RSS feed that is properly optimized and Read more

How To Keep Your Website Fresh With RSS

One of the biggest reasons people visit websites is to get information. If you can regularly provide fresh, quality content on your website you can expect to be rewarded by visitors and return visitors. What’s more, you will be rewarded by the search engines. I recommended that you add new and original content to your site as often as possible, ideally once a day. Read more

5 Reasons To Use Blogs In Internet Marketing

While the Internet is relatively new, blogging is newer still, having begun in the late 90’s.  Originally, it wasn’t much more than a means of allowing visitors to a website to comment or express an opinion.  Original blog comments were short; sometimes not more than one Read more

Blogging: A Start-Up Guide

Blogging: A Start-Up Guide
By Michelle Bery

Blogging is so easy that you probably do not need a start up guide, but for those who have blogaphobia, I am doing this.

1. By reading this you are half way there. This is a blog style post.

2. If you post, you are blogging to an extent.

3. If you take my advice and get a blog, you are a blogger.

4. If you sell anything, or create money trail, you are making money blogging.

Now that I’ve bored you with a list, you probably want something good. I’ll give it to you. If you have never blogged, this little start-up guide is for you. If you have blogged, maybe you just need a refresher course.

Anyway, you probably want to know how to blog. You know what blogging is and you know you can make money with it. What you may not know is how you start.

Well, it’s easy. Choose a provider. Make sure it’s someone who has the up-to-the minute programming so you don’t look ancient.

Create an account –Then, start writing! Alas, you are going to say “exactly HOW do I just pop into the blog and write?”

It’s not some horrid thing where you have to have a book next to you figuring out designs and codes. For the most part, there are layouts you choose from and often you can even pick colors of fonts and such. It’s like decorating a living room, only this is a living room about 12 million people could possibly visit. So make it look nice!

You don’t have to have software usually or anything snazzy. You simply pick a design or layout and create a look or image based upon choices that you’ll be prompted to make.

Is it an article, a column? What the heck IS a blog?  As mentioned before, in another article -blogs are actually entries. It’s like a diary or a journal. You simply write, but note – that whatever you do not want the world to see, do not write.   After you write your entry, you will be asked to publish or post it. Once you do that you still can often, go in and edit or delete it. You will usually give your blog a title. You type your entry, which you may call “blog” or “Content” and away you go. You’ve just blogged.

Sometimes, you allow (or not allow) the public or a select bunch you’ve invited to make posts or comments to what you have written. This makes for fun if you do allow it but sometimes it can be downright harsh. There is usually no screening on posts unless you specifically in your template and choices make sure no one has potty mouth or gossip mouth. The way to do this is to be a moderator, or to even hire a moderator. This way, all posts first go to an email address (they have no idea) and you or someone with some degree of ethics and standards, will edit, delete or allow the post to go through. That personally is my advice; don’t let downers, potty mouths or idiots post on your site unless you are really sure that you will attract only a top-notch crowd. Since blogs are often public places – think of the blog as a public bathroom. Only let the people in who flush and wash their hands. This is an especially nice feature also for control freaks.

Do I have to be youngish? Hip? Can I be a boomer or older than dirt?  Anyone can blog. There is no set rule of thumb. It used to be hip kids, journalists and maybe a select other few who did it. Now, you have grandparents who blog and let their kids blog also – and grandkids. It’s a great way to keep the family as a unit if you keep everyone together, you know?

Blogs are special. They are unique. They are  really nothing more than a public diary or journal – where a web site is all about people going to the site and just staring at it, a blog is all about saying, “Come on in and sit a spell” – which is why you will find that blogs tend to be more upscale, than say, a chat room or chat board. Blogs are the welcome wagon of the internet. Chat rooms are like a seedy bar. Chat boards are like hospital waiting rooms where people sometimes share doom, gloom and gossip. But Blogs are really usually positive. Sure you will have that negative blog here and there – but a decent blog owner will beget decent posters for the most part.

It is a small world. So, when you visit a blog, or when you have a blog – expect people to comment online. It’s a diary where people will actually say – “this is cool, and I want to be a part of your life and share this with you” and…they will!  If you allow this in the template, you will have comments that agree, disagree or just share. You may have folks promoting themselves, or you may have cheerleaders supporting your blog. Either way, it’s a great way to make friends and yes, make money if that’s what you wish.

You need to realize that your blog could and very well may be found on the net during someone’s search. For instance, if you have certain tag words in your blog, or it’s just plain popular, a key word search could turn up your blog. It’s the net, and it’s public. Blog smart!

Blogging is for you, even if you think it isn’t. You may think you are not a writer. So what? First of all, if it is a personal blog meant for only a few folks, and you don’t care that you are not a thespian of the paper, then don’t worry about it.  Also, you don’t have to be a super-duper writer at all. Even if you are a writing savant, you certainly at least have an opinion, correct? Voice it through blogging! You also probably have a passion such as gardening, cooking or fixing old cars…that a bajillion people also have, that you could talk to and share with.   Again, you can make money. If you like gardening, you may want to think about selling seeds, or dried lavender from your garden, or renting ad space or a few thousand other ways to make money. Maybe an online course where you teach the power of planting? As long as you have passion and ideas, there will always be possible ways to make money that are fun and proactive.

Blogging is absolutely one of the most easy, fun, economical yet possibly financially rewarding hobbies you can start for yourself.

Michelle is a bona fide professional blogger. If you’re aiming for six figure online profits then you NEED her fresh, upbeat advice! Read the full version of this article here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Bery

Blogging: A Start-Up Guide

Blogging is so easy that you probably do not need a start up guide, but for those who have blogaphobia, I am doing this. Read more

Marketing With Blogs - Part 1

Marketers have found that blogs are excellent tools for communicating with their audience. Anyone who has something to sell or an idea to promote can benefit from using blogs. Read more

Should Bloggers be Helping Google Fix Their PageRank System?

By now, most bloggers have heard the announcement that the Big 3 search engines - Google, Yahoo, and MSN - have united in support of a new tag that will supposedly combat comment spam. The new tag is a nofollow attribute that can be added to links. When added to links in comment tags, the search engines will ignore them. Read more

How Popular are Blogs Today?

In recent studies by the American Life Project and The Guardian (UK), researchers asked whether or not the popularity of blogs today was growing in the two countries; and if so, why? The results on the popularity of blogs today were not exactly what most members of the blogosphere might expect. Read more

Next Page »